18 000 acres of paddy fields abandoned due to lack of water supply

COLOMBO(News 1st) - While torrential rains downpour in certain parts of the island, some farmers living in other parts of the island are facing severe water shortages. The Weligama Jaburagoda paddy field is the largest of its kind in the South, spanning over 18,000 acres. However, at present, the farmers cultivate less than 100 acres of this land. The reason for this being the lack of a suitable irrigation system. As a result, the farmers in the Addarawela, Jamburagoda, Palala, Borala and Welipitiya have stopped cultivating in these lands. The farmers state that if a proper irrigation system could be established to ensure that water is distributed equally among all parts of the paddy field, then this land could be made fertile and prosperous once again.